The Canadian Women’s National Volleyball Team has announced it will be moving its training centre from Winnipeg to Richmond next January.
This comes as great news for Roberts Creek’s Kyla Richey, who said she is “beyond excited” about the move.
“Being from the Sunshine Coast and having played for UBC for five years, I am ecstatic to be given the opportunity to again play in front of my friends and family. It means a lot to me,” Richey said. “I also am incredibly excited to take on a larger leadership and mentor role within the Vancouver community and hopefully be able to give back to the aspiring athletes. I just believe the opportunities are endless.”
The process to bring the team to B.C. began nearly two years ago with support from the Richmond municipality. A committee of representatives of the Richmond Olympic Oval, Volleyball BC and the Pacific Volleyball Society submitted the bid for the team’s new training centre.
“We are thrilled to welcome the women’s national volleyball team to the City of Richmond and the Richmond Olympic Oval,” Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said. “The Oval is already a training centre for many Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and this will continue to build on its status as a world-class centre for high performance sport.”
Volleyball Canada evaluated the bids for the centre based on many criteria, including training facilities, technical and sport medicine support and lifestyle factors.
“As for the entire bid committee in Vancouver,” Richey said, “I know how hard you worked to bring us there and I can’t tell you enough how thankful I am for you all and this opportunity to continue to represent my country, in Vancouver. After almost a decade, I’m finally coming back home.”
